>> Not that it represents a drift from their stance of refusing to give away their music for free, but we’re pleased too see a whole lot of MILLED PAVEMENT releases hit Bandcamp this week. Most have been in readily accessible digital form on Amazon or iTunes for awhile, but we like to think Bandcamp democratizes the process a bit. Course, this comes just in time for the release of a new one by VINYL CAPE, a ferocious collab between experimental, punk-cut rapper Brzowski, producer C $ Burns, and Connecticut’s Mo Niklz. We’re long past the era where most indie labels should’ve burned to the ground, and we have to say, Milled Pavement’s collective energy, tireless touring efforts, and dedication to its artists is a tremendous statement. Do visit milledpavement.bandcamp.com for the full dig.
>> HIGH SPIRITS, one of our favorite transcendental, punk/surf indie bands in town, just released a live one that sounds at least as good as anything they’ve laid to tape (a/k/a one other thing). Recorded by Mike Cunnane for his Cut the Shit imprint, these folks have really sailed into their own—exhibit A being an updated version of the older track “Gravity,” replete with laser-bright guitar lines and a haunting, bewildered half-sneer by frontlady Alice. Songs are still checking in at around 90 to 150 seconds, just breezing by on the strength of those thud-punk bursts of percussive primitivism. But they’re more satisfyingly an instrumental band than ever—if the spare “Jungle Queen” were ever to find its way onto the back-side of a mixtape you presented to someone you yearned for, our take is that it would get the point across! This band have leapt into the stratosphere of the very good. To hear Live from Earth from Space, head to highspirits.bandcamp.com.